Dictionary

gigful en · NOUN

Etymology

From gig + -ful.

Meanings

1. The number or quantity that can be held by a gig (rowboat or two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage).
   • Then he ran down the steps, in a splendid pair of pants, towards the gigful of girls, who had been brought from Sydney for him to choose from. 1955, Patrick White, chapter 8, in The Tree of Man, New York: Viking, page 107:
   • Before the two large quarter-boats could be got ready for the ladies and the rest of us, in fact, we heard the gigful of writers and cadets beginning to pop away at everything they saw alive, out of sight of the ship […] 1856, George Cupples, chapter 16, in The Green Hand, London: Sands, published 1878, page 219:
   • I am well aware there is a Providence for drunken men, that holds the reins for them and presides over their troubles; doubtless he had his work cut out for him with this particular gigful! 1897, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 13, in St. Ives, New York: Scribner, page 141:
   • […] an ageing market woman, driving her gigful of yokel produce to back doors and draughty stalls, 1976, Norah Lofts, To See a Fine Lady, Greenwich, CT: Fawcett, Part 3, p. 264:
2. The number of songs that can be performed during a gig (performing engagement by a musician or musical group).
   • They had eight Guthrie songs now, and some more to make up the gigful. 2007, Roddy Doyle, “The Deportees”, in The Deportees and Other Stories, New York: Viking, page 58:

Forms